


Paint the Town Red

by hotelcortez



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Attempted Murder, Blood, Gen, Horror Elements, Mentions of alcohol, Multi, Threats of Violence, break-in, heroic stray kids, villains taeyong and yuta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-06-26 03:58:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19760128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hotelcortez/pseuds/hotelcortez
Summary: Miroh is a bar run and owned by nine young, hard-working boys.They're cleaning up late one night when the radio announces the escape of two deadly criminals, and it's not long before the paranoia starts to hit.At least it only seemed like paranoia, that was until the deafening sound of a smashed window echoed throughout the entire bar.





	Paint the Town Red

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all, welcome to my newest brain explosion!! I decided to try something new with this one
> 
> I have been excited (and incredibly nervous) about this story for a while. It took me AaAGes to write and it was super difficult but I enjoyed it a lot and I really like this genre
> 
> Side note: this story isn't completely chronological, the character POV switches up a bit and therefore so does the order of events. I think for the most part it is clear, but please keep that in mind
> 
> Please heed the tags and enjoy the story!!
> 
> TW: break-in, violence, attempted murder, knives, major injuries, alcohol, thoughts about death. Please stay safe xx

As per usual, the smell of alcohol smacked Chan and Minho in the face the moment they entered Miroh.

It wasn’t necessarily a bad alcoholic smell, not the one associated with addiction and violence, more so the soft spirit undertones and harsh whiskey waves that accompanied their every night.

Woojin, Seungmin and the three bartenders (Hyunjin, Jeongin and Felix) were already inside. Jeongin was counting all the bottles behind the bar, stating everything that needed to be restocked as Seungmin sat on one of the bar stools and wrote it all down on his little clipboard, having memorised the prices enough to know exactly what everything would cost and already crunching the numbers in his head. 

Felix was off to the left of the room dragging around tables and manoeuvring the chairs, keeping it all away from the dance floor and making sure it was neat, a slightly damp cloth hanging over his faded yellow sweater as drips fell down his arm. Hyunjin, as the third bartender, was most definitely supposed to be helping Felix with this task, but Chan and Minho could see he was far too busy making out with Woojin in the middle of the room to be doing his job.

Usually, Woojin wouldn’t be into such public displays of affection. As the owner of the place and everyone’s boss he tried to set a good example even if he was one of the most relaxed and motherly managers ever. But they all figured that Hyunjin’s red crop-top, black leather pants and heeled boots had been a little too much for Woojin to resist as everyone promptly ignored them, Woojin’s hands firmly tangled in Hyunjin’s dark glossy mullet.

Hyunjin was probably equally to blame for the situation, he’d always said he’d had a thing for his boyfriend’s forehead being on show and today Woojin’s hair was standing tall, his dark blue expensive silk shirt glittering under the low bar lights. 

“Wanna show them what making out really looks like?” Minho smirked from next to Chan, squeezing his hand in slight amusement as Chan rolled his eyes.

“You’re forgetting there’s a baby present,” Chan said, nodding his head at Jeongin who, still behind the bar, was yet to notice their arrival, “Besides I don’t think neither Woojin nor Hyunjin would even notice right now.”

“Spoil sport,” Minho pouted, his blood red lipstick and eyeliner crinkling slightly at the expression, platinum blond hair falling low over his forehead. It was when Minho looked like this that Chan realised why no one took Minho seriously as a bouncer, but it was when he watched Minho deck 6-foot guys in the face that he realised they really should. 

“Let’s just go help, Lix,” Chan said with a sigh as he led Minho to the other end of the room, wrapping an arm around Minho’s leather-jacket-clad shoulder and using his other hand to wave to Felix.

Felix smiled as he looked up, his lavender purple hair and flower crown shifting on his head as he nodded, small hands that were capable of making the best cocktails wiping the tables. He raised an eyebrow at the new tattoo on Chan’s left bicep, almost completing the sleeve that he had running down his arm. Chan just shrugged in response, his sleeveless shirt showing off the artwork and black beanie covering his dark curls, mainly to prevent Minho from wanting to run his hands through them every five seconds. Not that Chan could ever deprive Minho of what he wanted. 

“Hey, little Lixlix,” Minho cooed as he wondered over to one of the tables and dragged it with ease over to its correct position, catching the chairs that Chan sent sliding his way, “Thought we’d come over and help.”

“Thanks, hyungs,” Felix flashed his famous dazzling smileTM that made all the boys want to melt on the spot, often working wonders on the annoying drunk customers who needed appeasing, “I guess your biceps do come in handy for something.”

“Watch your mouth, brat,” Minho retorted as he raised a perfectly-plucked eyebrow at Felix, “Or I’ll set Chan on you.”

Chan pretended to growl at the comment and Felix giggled, the sound attracting the attention of both Jeongin and Seungmin as the two looked up and finally noticed Chan and Minho.

“Hey hyungs!” Jeongin smiled excitedly at them, toothy smile flashing all the way across the room. The boy’s dark hair was messy, his denim jacket lying over a black and white striped top that was tucked into a pleated black skirt. He also wore knee-high white socks and red converse, jumping slightly as he waved.

Not many of them had thought Jeongin would be good at bar-tending, his youthful innocence and childlike playfulness often clashing with the maturity and resilience the job required when working fast-paced, high-stress situations that could sometimes involve very questionable drunk behaviour (not that Minho or Woojin or anyone working there would ever let anything happen to any of the bartenders).

But Woojin must have seen something in the boy when he hired him and, as per usual, Woojin had been right. It turned out Jeongin was smart as a whip and could use his fast hands to expertly work the bottles and measurements to serve people’s drinks with some witty comments and a smile. He worked perfectly alongside Hyunjin as they both practically danced around each other at the bar, feeding off each other’s energy and smiling at Felix who was usually stirring up a storm at the cocktail bar, often making a mess he’d complain about clearing up at the end of the night.

“Hello baby!” Minho squealed as he waved back, both Chan and Jeongin rolling their eyes at the pet name, Minho not failing to notice the action and leaning over to plant a sloppy kiss on Chan’s cheek. Chan tried to shove him away, but there was already a fat lipstick mark on his face that Felix giggled quietly to himself at as he decided not to tell Chan about it.

Seungmin merely waved once before going back to his clipboard, black turtleneck creating adorable little sweater paws over his hands. It would have been a cute sight if not for Seungmin’s striking red hair and septum piercing that his boyfriend had talked him into getting. It somehow made Seungmin look adorable but also ready to cut you at any moment, and there were several people out there who had learnt not to cross him. Seungmin managed the money and finances at the bar, his fast maths brain helping Woojin run the place and keep everything working smoothly. 

Woojin and Seungmin spent most nights walking around and looking important, using walkie-talkies to talk to the three bartenders about who they should be serving and how many customers to expect and warning Minho about any behaviour he might have to come in and stop. The two managers were also both trained behind the bar and so could rush in to help should it get too busy. 

That just left Chan, Jisung and Changbin, the three rappers who got on stage six nights a week to perform for the crowds. Miroh was a bar well-known for its live shows and Woojin only had to thank 3racha for that, the three boys not only lending him their talent but also helping to open and close every night so as not to put too much work on everyone else. They were a close-knit group, the nine boys who worked there, and Woojin couldn’t help but be proud of the little family he’d helped to create. 

The next one to walk in was Changbin, tugging his headphones out his ears as his black combat boots with red laces crossed the floor. He had on a plain white t-shirt with dark green cargo pants, a couple of tattoos decorating his arms and a combination of piercings lining his face, including a pair of lip studs that he pushed into Seungmin’s neck the moment he started hugging his boyfriend from behind.

“Get off, rat,” Seungmin said as he quickly turned to give Changbin a kiss on the forehead before squirming in his arms in an attempt to push him off, “I’m busy.”

“But you’re so fluffy, puppy,” Changbin said as he continued to nuzzle Seungmin’s neck, Jeongin watching in disgust from the other side of the bar, tempted to take a photo just to show the world how much of a ‘dark rapper’ Changbin really was. But then again he might accidentally get the expensive couple that was Woojin and Hyunjin still making out in the background, and he wasn’t sure if anyone wanted to see that.

Jisung was, as per usual, fashionably late, walking in with a shout of ‘What’s up losers?!’ before rushing over to the stage to help Chan and Changbin set up the sound system. His messy, neon silver/blue hair was adorned by a bucket hat and his eyes held bright blue contacts the same colour as his ripped mum jeans. Over the top, he was wearing a black oversized hoodie that he’d most likely stolen from Woojin from the flat above the bar. 

Miroh was only a small place, but it was still popular. It had a large bar-room that was half-spanned by a dance floor and a small stage and half-spanned by the bar counter and all the tables and chairs. To the left, next to the bar, was a small block of toilets and to the right was a storage room and freezer-area locked by a passcode that only the boys knew. The storage room also contained a staircase that led upwards to the two-bedroom flat that came with the place. Woojin and Hyunjin lived in the master bedroom whilst Seungmin, as the other manager, lived in the spare room. Although, with the amount of times Changbin stayed with him, it would have been safe to say Changbin lived there too.

Chan and Minho owned a small house together just two minutes from the bar and Felix, Jeongin and Jisung all lived in the same apartment block that was fifteen minutes away, so all nine boys were usually always close to one another, having frequent sleepovers and day-trips that they always enjoyed. 

But they had to get through another night at Miroh before any more trips, 3racha had just finished wiring up the speakers and Hyunjin, Felix and Jeongin were all ready to go. Minho was positioned outside the door, searching bags and checking IDs to make sure no one dangerous got in, but still only a walkie-talkie call away should danger still find its way inside the bar. 

Woojin was leaning on the wall next to the stage, half-watching the door as people began to filter in but also half-watching his boyfriend who was smiling dazzlingly at customers from behind the bar, swinging his hips and using his charm that he knew would have people spending more money. 

Soon, Seungmin was done placing orders in the office upstairs and came down to clear glasses for Jeongin to wash later, 3racha now spitting into mics on the stage, Seungmin unable to resist watching his boyfriend as he expertly displayed his craft. 

Jisung and Chan were also performing full-out too and Seungmin didn’t know how Minho did it, stood outside listening to Chan and resisting the urge to come in and watch knowing that Chan would be showing off on stage. 

Hyunjin, Jeongin and Felix handled the night like experts, talking and joking with customers whilst making their drinks and professionally turning away the ones who had evidently had too much. There were barely any problems or fights and their walkie-talkies crackled with lack-of-use, 3racha soon finishing with their performance and coming to sit at the bar and chat as business began to slow down.

Eventually, it was time to close and Jisung and Chan positioned themselves by the door to hand out lollipops to the people leaving in hopes that it would keep them quiet as they walked home so Woojin wouldn’t get noise complaints. Minho came in to report to Woojin about all the objects he had confiscated and the bartenders began to clean down the bar, Seungmin counting all the money in the till and Changbin beginning to stack the chairs and tables. 

Clean-up was usually a slow and exhausting process, especially since it occurred so late at night after they’d already worked so hard. So, Woojin usually put on the radio for them all, letting them listen happily as they wiped and washed and closed and stacked. 

Felix was the one stood closest to the radio when it happened. He was happily humming along and mopping the bar floor when suddenly the song stopped mid-word, silence echoing ominously around the room before the radio started speaking words that had Felix sliding frantically across the slippery floor to try and turn the volume up. 

“Attention! Attention! This is an urgent announcement from the council. Two deadly criminals, Lee Taeyong and Nakamoto Yuta, have been reported to have escaped from the local prison and it is feared they are in the city.”

Jeongin gasped, the glass he was holding slipping out his hand and kamikazeing to the floor, shiny shards zipping around the room and spreading sharply across the ground like nails.

“It is advised that everyone stays in their houses and locks their doors. If you see either of the criminals do not approach, we repeat do not approach. These criminals are dangerous and should not, under any circumstances, be provoked.”

Changbin stared completely dumbfounded at the radio, the wire he had been folding going slack in his hands, lightning tingling through his veins as the music in his mind took a terrifying turn.

“Report sightings immediately and stay indoors. The city will be under the highest level of police protection until further notice.”

A deadly chill coated the room.

The air froze around them.

“This is an extreme warning and should not be ignored.”

Felix slowly turned his head to meet eyes with Jeongin, a spark of terror meeting between the two of them as they were thrown back to three years ago when Taeyong and Yuta had been active in their city. 

The criminal pair had been lethal, murdering people everyone knew and robbing businesses everyone loved, smashing windows and hurting innocents and sending a wave of terror crashing over everyone who had lived nearby. The city had gone under curfew and the local schools had nearly had to close, extra policemen being put on duty and people starting to carry weapons as the murderous duo had gotten more and more active. 

An intense darkness had coated the city, fear and terror replacing its usual cheeriness as two men were singlehandedly able to pry the happiness out of people’s shaking hands, replacing it with nothing but anguish and loss. 

Too many had been lost to it.

Eventually, the pair had been caught and locked up in the prison’s highest security, photos of their mugshots spreading like wildfire through the half-happy, half-horrified town. There was not a single resident in the city who hadn’t heard of their names. it was now an infamous part of their history that was barely discussed, the mere whispers of the Taeyong and Yuta being enough to plunge whole streets into panic.

If Taeyong and Yuta had escaped, no one knew the kind of pain they could inflict. 

“Oh my god, hyung,” Jeongin whispered, still staring at Felix as a terrifying thought began to scorch through his mind, burning his every nerve as his voice rose and shook with every passing syllable, “We have to walk home tonight! We have to walk home with them out there! What if something happens?”

“Jeongin…” Felix’s throat began to close, the boy wishing he could reassure Jeongin that him and Jisung would keep him safe, that they’d all walk home together hand-in-hand, that they wouldn’t let anything happen. But, thankfully, Woojin was striding over and opening his mouth before Felix could get another word out, saving him from making promises he didn’t know he’d be able to keep.

“Absolutely nothing is going to happen,” Woojin said, voice laced with conviction as he stared softly down at Jeongin, making sure to catch the younger’s eyes in hopes of swirling some reassurance into the distress swimming within them, “I am not, under any circumstances, letting you guys walk home if it’s dangerous. You can all stay here.”

Jeongin visibly sagged in relief, Felix and Jisung both letting out deep breaths from where they were, not willing to admit how much the idea of walking home with a deadly crime duo around had terrified them.

“Thank you, hyung,” Jeongin said, a relieved smile gracing his face as he stared up at Woojin, eyes shining.

“No need to thank me, little one,” Woojin squeezed his shoulder, “I’ll always take care you guys. Hyunjin, Seungmin and Changbin will be in the flat anyways so you guys can all stay with us, and that includes Chan and Minho.”

Both Chan and Minho immediately opened their mouths to protest, probably about to spout some selflessness about how they would be okay with risking their lives if it meant Woojin wasn’t inconvenienced. But Woojin was turning and raising his eyebrows at them before they could make a single noise, both of them stopping at the look of absolute conviction on Woojin’s face.

“You’ll have to squeeze up a bit, but you’re still staying,” Woojin said pointedly, “You’re not leaving until it’s safe.”

“Okay boss,” Chan nodded, offering a small smile at Jeongin who was watching from behind, “If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure,” Woojin confirmed, letting silence coat the room for a few seconds before speaking up again, “We’ll finish up here and then go upstairs and see what blankets and spare clothes we can find, hope you don’t mind sharing.”

“Oh, we definitely don’t mind at all,” Minho remarked slyly in an attempt to cut through the cold atmosphere, winking at Chan who made a point of ignoring him.

“Maybe I’d prefer walking home with the murderer,” Jisung said as he watched the couple, drawing a snort from Changbin who was next to him and a certain middle-finger salute from Minho, Jisung smiling dazzlingly in return.

Felix slid back over to the radio to turn it off as they all went back to work, no longer wanting to hear the urgent voice shouting about the danger all around them. The atmosphere was still heavy with fear, but none of them could deny that they felt safer around each other, that they could draw from each other the strength and protection that would get them through anything. 

Or so they hoped.

Eventually, all the tables and chairs had been stacked and the bar had been scrubbed spotless, the floor mopped and the glasses shining. Woojin went around and double-checked the locks on every single door and window, Chan following him around and doing the same, neither of them wanting to risk anyone breaking in.

Usually, Felix would venture off on his own to the storage room to turn off all the lights, but despite it only being a room away, he couldn’t bring himself to it, images of Taeyong’s and Yuta’s snarling faces appearing in his mind as he tried not to think about the darkness that would soon coat them.

So, he waited until everyone was done before they all walked into the storage room together, most of them heading towards the staircase that led to the flat whilst Felix and Woojin stayed behind. They pressed all the right switches and soon the entire downstairs was suffocated with nothing but black, the shadows beginning to scurry and move as Felix sucked in a breath, trying to focus on nothing but Woojin’s warm hand on his back as they made their way up the pitch-black staircase. 

A nasty feeling seemed to follow them up, Felix feeling the hairs prickling on the back of his neck as a cold shiver worked its way slowly down his spine, his fingertips beginning to tingle with the feeling. He tried to tell himself that he was being irrational, that there was no reason to panic, but he couldn’t get the radio announcement out of his head, couldn’t help but constantly hear the word ‘danger’ echo through his mind.

Felix breathed a sigh of relief when they entered the apartment, the seven other boys all spread around the living room and trying to prepare for the night ahead. 

Hyunjin was dragging in an array of blankets and pillows, his heels thrown haphazardly to the side of the room and his tight jeans loosened, Woojin immediately running over to help him as they dragged in the bedding together. Jeongin helped them separate all of it as Chan helped Minho to remove his makeup in the big mirror hung on the wall, Jisung next to them struggling to remove his contacts. 

Changbin and Seungmin were curled up together on the sofa, Seungmin looking troubled as Changbin’s hand rubbed slow circles on his shoulder, concern crashing in waves between them.

“Are you okay, puppy?” Changbin asked softly, quiet enough for most of the room not to hear but loud enough for Felix to catch as he settled himself next to Jeongin on the floor to help smooth out the blankets.

“Yeah, I’m fine…” Seungmin sighed as he looked away, trying to relax himself into Changbin’s embrace but feeling held back by the bad feeling humming uncomfortably in his veins, “I just… I can’t help but feel like something is going to happen. I know I’m probably just being paranoid but I’ve just got this bad feeling, I feel like something’s going to go wrong.”

A small prickle of shock tightened in Felix’s chest as he listened to the words, his hands constricting around the fabric he was holding as he tried not to vocalise how he was experiencing a similar feeling, how he also felt like something was going to happen, how it was a feeling not unlike paranoia, but also a lot more serious.

“Oh, Minnie,” Changbin leant forward to brush his lips lightly over Seungmin’s cheek, his hand beginning to card through the younger’s red hair, “I know that announcement was scary, but nothing’s going to happen, okay? We’re all safe here.”

Seungmin nodded at the words, leaning contently into Changbin’s touch. He couldn’t deny he felt reassured by the words, but he also couldn’t let go of the nasty feeling crawling under his skin, of the idea that someone was going to get hurt.

He was distracted by Woojin walking into the room, arms loaded with various pairs of sweatpants that he placed on the floor.

“Seungminnie, Binnie, I hope you don’t mind I raided your wardrobe,” he said as crouched down to try and figure out which trousers would fit which person best, “I managed to find enough of mine and Hyunjin’s and your sweatpants for everyone to sleep in if that’s alright.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Changbin nodded, slowly untangling himself from Seungmin to go over and help. He picked up a pair of Seungmin’s and inspected them for a second before holding them out to Jeongin with a grin, “These ones will probably be fine for you.”

“Thanks, hyung,” Jeongin smiled back, catching an old t-shirt that Hyunjin threw his way before going to the bathroom to change. 

It took a few laughs and a few more wardrobe changes, but eventually everyone was wearing sleep clothes that at least semi-fit them. Jisung’s ankles were on full-display because of wearing Changbin’s trousers, but he took it in his stride, joining in with the laughs thrown his way.

He was still giggling to himself when he settled himself under an old-blanket at the end of the sofa, Chan and Minho cuddled up together at the other end. Felix was on the floor just below them, lying on top of an array of cushions and blankets Hyunjin had used to make a little nest. Jeongin was supposed to be with Felix, but it had been a little bit too cramped for comfort and so Woojin had decided there was definitely enough room for three in his bed, meaning Jeongin, Hyunjin and Woojin were all cuddled up together in the master bedroom. 

Changbin and Seungmin were naturally lying in their own bed, Changbin having triple-checked every lock on every window in the flat to try and appease Seungmin’s paranoia that was stubbornly refusing to go away.

Maybe that was why, two hours later, Seungmin was still lying awake. 

The air was cold around him. Every shadow, every noise, every shift from Changbin next to him had him flinching. It felt like there were needles dancing along the edge of his skin, a tightness in his chest keeping him from breathing properly as he kept imagining two dark figures slinking their way into the bar, two dark figures wrapping their claws around him, two dark figures breathing down his neck as his friends screamed. 

He couldn’t help it. He just couldn’t get the radio announcement out of his head, his mind whispering that the two criminals were a lot closer than anyone had realised.

It wasn’t like Seungmin to be paranoid, wasn’t like him to imagine the worst. Seungmin was a realist, not a pessimist, and so he could usually face situations head-on, knowing that there were nine people to protect each other in this flat, and it was super unlikely they’d be in any danger anyway. Usually Seungmin would be the one remaining calm and giving advice, whilst Jisung, Felix and Hyunjin would be freaking out in scary circumstances. 

It was very rare that Seungmin felt this scared.

But he couldn’t stop the dark thoughts from stabbing his brain, couldn’t stop the nasty images clawing their way in, couldn’t stop the completely paralysing feeling squeezing his neck as he lay terrified in his own home. Since when had it been this hard to breathe?

Despite his imagination intently spiralling tricks at him to freak him out, Seungmin knew he wasn’t imaging anything when there was a shuffle outside his door. 

He bolted up in the bed, heart dropping to the floor and a gasp tumbling out his lips as another shuffle made its way in from the corridor. His skin began to tingle, hands shaking and mind screaming with images of a murderer creeping down the hallway, of a murderer poised with a blade making their way towards his room, of a murderer coming into their home and stealing their lives.

“Changbin!” Seungmin whispered harshly, eyes locked to the door as he fumbled with one of his hands to shake his boyfriend, “Changbin-hyung! Binnie! Wake up!”

“…huh,” Changbin blinked sleepily to himself, vision momentarily fuzzing around him before his attention was pulled down to the shaking hand squeezing his t-shirt, his half-asleep brain trying to process the sight as the breathing in the room got drastically louder, “Puppy… Seungminnie… what’s going on?”

“Hyung, there’s someone out there,” Seungmin could barely talk, pants stuttering through his chest as he stared at the door, entire body vibrating with the idea of someone trying to get in, “I’m not imagining it, I promise. Please hyung, you have to believe me. I’m not being paranoid, there really is someone there. Hyung ple-“

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, just stay calm, alright?” Changbin sat up in the bed, the blanket falling off him as he looped an arm around Seungmin’s shoulders and pulled the boy’s face into his neck as he lowly shushed him, “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, okay? I’ll go check it out now.”

Changbin couldn’t deny that his own heart was pounding, that Seungmin’s fear was igniting his own, that he was completely and utterly terrified by the idea of someone in the flat. But he knew he had to keep Seungmin safe, knew they wouldn’t survive anything if they weren’t calm.

“Hyung, no,” Seungmin was practically crying into Changbin’s neck, “You can’t go alone. Please don’t go alone.”

“I’m not going to do anything, puppy,” Changbin tried to keep his voice down, tried to hide how his own skin was crawling with fear, “I’m just going to look, okay? If I see anything I’ll come back here and we’ll call the police, okay?”

“I’m coming too.” Seungmin was looking up now, eyes blazing as he stared directly at Changbin. Changbin felt his heart burst at the sight, honoured that Seungmin was trying to be brave for him, but also worrying about putting Seungmin in danger.

“Seungminnie, you don’t have to,” Changbin was about to reach up a hand to brush the hair from Seungmin’s eyes, but the action was halted by large flinch that rattled his entire body, Seungmin jumping harshly and almost whimpering. Another shuffle echoed from the corridor, directly outside the bedroom door, and Changbin felt his heart leap up into his throat. 

Changbin didn’t even think as he was springing from the bed, throwing back the covers and sprinting to the door, entire world blurring around him as he yanked it open. He brought back a fist, prepared to it slam into the face of whoever was invading their home, his entire body pulsing with the kind of terror so strong it could bring a person to their knees.

But the only person who fell to their knees was the person who had been walking past their door, the person who jumped so hard they almost screamed as Changbin lunged towards them, the person who was most definitely not an intruder. 

“Oh my god, Felix!” Changbin whisper-shouted, letting his arm drop as he sagged in relief, staring down at the boy who was clutching his chest from his position on the floor, panting so hard Changbin was surprised he hadn’t passed out, “Felix, I’m so sorry! I didn’t realise it was you.”

Felix just stared up at him through wide eyes, shaking his head a little as he recovered from the shock, having momentarily believed that he was actually about to be murdered, “It’s-it’s okay hyung, s-sorry for scaring you.” 

“No, no, please don’t apologise,” Changbin crouched down so he was eye-level with Felix, cupping his hand round the boy’s pale face in an attempt to calm him down, “Please don’t be so sorry. That must have scared you so bad, I would never purposefully punch you, I promise.”

Felix just nodded as he caught his breath, closing his eyes for a couple of seconds to try and rid his mind of the images of a person pouncing towards him, of a person lunging at him, of a person intent on hurting him.

When he opened his eyes again, Seungmin was in the doorway, entire body shaking as he stared through relieved eyes down at Felix, reaching out a hand to rest on Changbin’s shoulder from behind. 

“Are you okay, Lix?” he asked softly, squinting at the boy in the dark, “What were you doing up?”

“I was just going to the bathroom,” Felix answered, eyes lowered in shame, “I didn’t mean to disturb you, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Seungmin said, “We probably shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions like that. I just heard the footsteps and got scared, I guess.”

“It’s okay,” Felix cleared his throat as he answered, taking in one last deep breath as Changbin helped him to his feet, “I would have gotten scared too.”

Changbin merely smiled in response, patting Felix’s shoulder a couple of times before he followed the younger’s line of sight. Felix was staring apprehensively down the corridor towards the living room, evidently scared of making the short journey back to his bed alone in the dark. It wasn’t an irrational fear, the boy had just almost gotten punched in a city rampaged with escaped convicts, so Changbin couldn’t blame him for being afraid, even if his spot on the floor was just a corridor away.

“Hey, I can walk you back to the living room if you want,” Changbin offered and Felix looked a lot more relieved than he probably realised, a heavy sigh leaving his lips.

“Oh my god, would you?” he said, “That would be great. Sorry, I know I’m a baby.”

“Well, I’m probably as much of a baby as you are, because I’m coming too,” Seungmin chimed in, stepping forward to grab Changbin’s hand and loop their fingers together, “You are not leaving me alone here.”

A shaky grin broke out on Felix’s face at the words, Changbin huffing a laugh as they both tried to suppress how unnerved they were seeing Seungmin so scared. Seungmin was usually rational, would usually know that staying in the bedroom was just as safe as walking a mere room away, but it was clear he was distressed, so distressed he was refusing to be alone.

It was fear-inducing to say the least, and Felix felt his own bad feelings twisting uncomfortably in his stomach, the world seeming that little bit scarier as the shadows shifted around the room, the darkness still so thick they could only make out each other’s silhouettes. 

“My little babies,” Changbin cooed, soft voice momentarily breaking the wall of black as he squeezed Seungmin’s hand, drawing a whine from the boy as Felix tried to lose himself in their light, tried to fall into their happiness rather than letting himself plunge into their fear, “Come on.”

He gestured them down the corridor and Srungmin nodded as they all leaned forward to take a step, feet just about to land on the floor in front of them when their hearts all stopped at exactly the same time, their feet landing just as a loud crash thundered from downstairs.

Felix’s breath caught in his throat, his vision momentarily blurring as the world tilted, terror flashing within him for a brutal second that had him recoiling. Seungmin squeezed Changbin’s hand so hard it was painful, the couple instantly flinching towards each other as they instinctively locked eyes, blood draining out of their faces as they realised they had both just heard that.

It was the sound of glass smashing, eerily similar to the noise Jeongin had made earlier when he’d dropped the glass, but this time much, much scarier.

Shards had pierced the air, the silence bleeding in its wake, replaced only by the fast, strangled breathing of the three boys who had heard it.

“Was that… was that one of the windows?” Seungmin’s mouth was dry as he whispered, barely able to force the words through his lips, “Did… did someone… did someone just break our window?”

Felix couldn’t answer, entire body locked with terror, thoughts suffocating with fear that made him want to scream, made him want to run, made him want to drop to the floor and curl up until it was over.

“We don’t know that,” Changbin tried to sound calm as he answered, forcing himself to take some deep breaths and think rationally about the situation, knowing they had already freaked out unnecessarily once tonight and they did not need to do it again, “It could have just been a bottle or something. You know how Hyunjin stacks them up, they could easily fall over.”

The words sounded stupid to Changbin’s own ears, but he tried to act like he at least somewhat believed them. He could feel Seungmin’s fear burning along his fingertips and he knew Felix was frozen on the other side of them, his only movements being the stuttering of his chest. Changbin wanted, needed, to reassure them, to protect them, to be strong for them. 

“I’ll go check it out,” Changbin sounded sure as he said it, trying to ignore the cold stone lodging in his gut, his stomach protesting against the idea of going anywhere alone.

Turns out, neither Seungmin and Felix seemed to like the idea as they both spoke up at once, a whispered “no!” escaping harshly from both their mouths.

“We’ll go together,” Seungmin said, his voice determinedly not shaky, “Like you said, it’s probably nothing. It’ll be fine.”

Felix wanted to comment on how glass smashing was definitely not nothing, but he held it back as he nodded, glancing briefly at the two next to him, “There’s safety in numbers, right?”

Changbin looked relieved at the offer, staring at Felix for a few seconds before he nodded, pulling Seungmin behind him as he started towards the staircase that would take them downstairs. 

Their footsteps padded softly along the floor, Felix almost flinching with each one, terrified of the idea that they were drawing attention, of the idea that they would be found, of the idea that they were walking straight towards something they shouldn’t be. Because Felix definitely did not believe it was nothing, definitely did not believe that shattering glass was harmless, definitely did not believe anything reassuring would come from the horrible writhing in his stomach. 

The door creaked as it opened and they almost collapsed with the way it set their teeth on edge, the noise ringing ominously down the staircase like it had absolutely no care whether they were killed or not. 

Seungmin briefly wondered what would happen if they all died, what kind of mark they would leave on the city they would be leaving behind. Would people mourn the nine young boys who ran the shining star of the town? Would people miss Miroh and the boys who worked so hard to make it welcoming? Would the property be sold and their efforts forgotten?

But then Seungmin realised he was getting ahead of himself, they weren’t dead yet, and if he put as much effort into thinking about their survival as he did thinking about their deaths, then maybe they’d be okay.

Maybe.

Their descent down the staircase was silent, Changbin leading the way with Seungmin holding his hand behind him, Felix trailing from the back. They’d taken this journey enough to know where the creaky floorboards were, where the uneven steps were, and so they were steady as they walked, hardly daring to breathe as their fingertips grazed lightly over the banister. 

They were relieved to find the storage room completely empty of other people. The boxes were all stacked as they should be, lights all still firmly off and the windows all intact. It was a calming sight, Felix unable to hold back a small sigh of relief.

“Maybe it really is nothing,” his voice cut softly through the silence, sounding a lot lighter than it had a few minutes ago. Changbin swung his head to face him and the two locked eyes with similar looks of dizziness, both evidently calming somewhat down from the fear that had paralysed them mere moments ago. 

But Seungmin barely moved, eyes locked on the open door of the storage room that led to the bar, entire body rigid with an extremely terrifying realisation. 

“Guys,” his voice was barely audible, tone suffocated with pure horror that had Changbin’s heart spasming against his ribs, “Is it me or is it a lot colder down here than it should be?”

The entire world shifted on its axis, realisation dawning on Felix and Changbin.

It was cold.

Too cold.

A chill hung in the air, light wisps of wind circling their wrists and squeezing their skin, a draft coating the room. 

It felt like someone had left a window open, like the breeze from outside was trying to claw its way in. But not one window had been left open, not one hatch had been left unlocked, and the sound that the glass had made when it smashed crashed harrowingly through their minds. 

Changbin was now 100% sure someone had smashed their window.

Someone who needed a place to hide.

Someone who didn’t care about what they had to break.

Someone who was probably a ruthless killer with a ruthless killer-partner who wouldn’t hesitate to destroy their bar if it brought them pleasure. 

“Oh god,” Changbin’s throat tightened painfully around the words, his feet planted on the floor and unable to move as he realised they needed to get upstairs now. They needed to get out now. They needed to warn the others and call the police now.

But it was too late.

It was far, far too late Changbin realised as a figure slinked its way into the doorway in front of him, his entire world crashing down around him at the sight.

Nakamoto Yuta was staring at him, bright orange bangs falling low over his narrowed eyes as he bored down at them, entire face built into the perfect sneer. He was wearing all black, slender body filling the doorway perfectly as he glowered threateningly down at the boys, lips twisting menacingly into a gleeful grin that made Seungmin want to throw up.

For a second, no one moved.

Stillness encased the whole room, no one even daring to breathe as complete horror flooded overwhelmingly through the boys’ veins, Yuta’s face deforming further and further into a smile as the fear began to suffocate them. 

It was then that Yuta took a step forward to sprint into the room and everything descended into chaos.

. . .

Woojin woke up to the sound of screaming.

It came from downstairs, the noises of scrambling and yelling and fighting swarming through every inch of his ears as he shot up in the bed. His breath left him in a rush, the blankets tangling around him as he briefly registered both Jeongin and Hyunjin bolting up beside him.

He barely even thought about what the noises could be before he was throwing back the covers and tumbling from the bed, rushing towards the door and darting out into the corridor and towards the living room.

Adrenalin rushed through his veins, mingling with the sleepiness still weighing down his body and tangling with his incoherent thoughts, leaving him a vibrating ball of mess as he tried to work out the sources of the noise.

He imagined a break-in. He imagined Taeyong and Yuta. He imagined his friends. All as he dashed down the corridor, still half-asleep but also wide-awake, mind not quite caught up with the situation but body determined to get him there.

The sounds of screaming and glass shattering got louder and Woojin swore he could feel his blood knotting erratically inside of him, too many things happening and too much danger and too much fear and yet he didn’t know what any of it was. 

Fear and confusion and distress followed him as he barrelled into the living room, body twitching with his fast breaths. He came in to the sight of Chan and Minho stood together in the middle of the room, hands holding onto one another and eyes wide with terror and misunderstanding. 

“What’s going on?” Minho blurted, staring at Woojin like he would somehow have all the answers, like he would somehow be able to explain the noises of devastation from downstairs despite still being upstairs with them, “Do we go down and see? Are we in danger?”

Jisung whimpered from where he was crouching on the sofa, Woojin’s lack of answer frightening him as his eyes darted around the room, entire body flinching with every loud noise. 

Woojin wanted nothing more than to reassure him, nothing more than to reach out to him, and it was when he was about to do so that Woojin’s heart dropped to his stomach, eyes widening dangerously as he caught sight of Felix’s makeshift bed on the floor. 

Or more specifically, Felix’s absence from his makeshift bed on the floor.

“Where’s Felix?!” Woojin felt his terror spike at the question, the three others in the room all whipping around to the blankets and having to hold back the screams at the sight of its emptiness, “Guys, where’s Felix?!”

Woojin sounded positively terrified and Jisung wanted to cry at the sound, even more as he realised he couldn’t see Felix anywhere. His mind conjured up images of his friend in danger, of his friend lying in a pool of his own blood, of his friend with empty eyes and pale skin and a still bo-

No! Jisung shook his head and shot off the sofa, refusing to let his brain take him to the worst possible place. There had to be some kind of explanation for this. There had to something.

“Hyungs!”

Jeongin’s horrified shout reached them from the corridor and they all scrambled to catch sight of the younger boy, stopping into the entry of the hallway to peer at where Hyunjin and Jeongin were standing by Changbin and Seungmin’s open bedroom door, both of them staring terrifyingly into the room.

“Changbin-hyung and Seungmin are gone!” Hyunjin cried, entire face white with terror as he trembled in the doorway, voice shaking with every syllable.

Woojin winced at the sound of his boyfriend sounding so vulnerable, wanting nothing more than to comfort him as the terror soared through his veins, but that terror was nothing compared to the complete and utter torment that floored them all a split-second later. 

“NO!” 

The ear-splitting scream echoed from downstairs and Jeongin wanted to throw up as he instantly recognised the sound of Seungmin, the boy’s usually calm and snarky voice now splitting with terror. 

There was a half-second of complete shock, a half-second of complete and utter nothing, before they were all running.

Woojin shot like a bullet towards the staircase downstairs, feet pounding on the floor underneath him as his every vein sizzled with inferno, body propelling him towards the scream now echoing alarmingly through his mind. 

The footsteps of the others were hot on his trail, all of them urgent, all of them loud, all of them desperate to end the horror that had just rang through their house. The sound was still bouncing off the walls, slithering through their ears and poisoning their minds as they all sprinted, all too aware of the three missing members in their ranks. 

If they had time to think about it, if they hadn’t been so caught off guard, maybe they would have realised that making noise and running towards the danger wasn’t the best decision. But coherent thought had gone out the window, replaced with the purest form of terror, the purest form of terror that strangled the mind and contorted the body, pulling them in a direction they never should have gone in.

Woojin hit the bottom of the staircase like a train, sprinting towards the barroom as the shapes of the room blurred past him, speed and adrenalin palpitating under his skin like drugs. 

Nothing could have stopped him in that moment.

Nothing except the very sight in front of him. 

Woojin came to a dead halt in the doorway, both hands instantly grabbing onto the walls to hold himself up, the world going upside down around him as his eyes hit the figures in front of him. 

Seungmin was on his knees in the middle of the room, chest rising and falling erratically and face twisted with fear. His body shivered drastically, neck dangerously close to the knife that Yuta had pressed against it. The murderer was leaning over him from behind, hand steady as it poised the blade deafeningly close to the boy’s skin. He looked up at Woojin’s and the other boys’ entrance in the doorway, sharp face mangling itself into a sneer as Seungmin whimpered, Woojin’s knees almost buckling at the sound. 

Changbin was lying unmoving on the floor next to them, eyes closed and limbs folded over themselves like he had been dragged. There was a pool of blood around his head, hair matted with the thick, red liquid and lines of pain prominent on his face.

Seungmin kept looking down at him as he cried, half his attention on the knife at his throat and the other half on his unconscious boyfriend, evidently desperate for Changbin to show some sign of being awake, some sign of being okay. 

The rest of the boys couldn’t help but be desperate for the same thing, hearts exploding in their chests as they processed the sight, Jisung gagging at the blood clotting the floor, forming some kind of distorted halo around Changbin’s head. 

Felix was lying on his stomach a few feet away from him, entire body twitching and shaking as he sobbed silently into the floor, tears staining the wood. There was blood all down his face and neck, dark marks shining gruesomely against his pale skin. 

He clawed weakly at the ground, squirming underneath the feeling of a knee planted directly between his shoulder-blades. Taeyong was on top of him, knee on Felix’s back and knife tickling horrifyingly against the back of his neck. The murderer smiled at the feeling of Felix rippling underneath him, pure sadistic glee flowing through him as Felix’s entire body contorted and tightened with anguish. 

The ecstasy only heightened as Yuta lifted piercing eyes to the boys now in the doorway, fingers curling excitedly around the knife as he swallowed up the terror on their faces, practically feeding off the devastation that rolled off their bodies in waves. 

“Hello,” Yuta said, voice laced with a vile concoction of glee, enticement and venom, “Want to have some fun?”

. . .

All Felix could remember was the way his lungs stopped working at exactly the same time Yuta took his first step into the storage room.

It was like the entire world exploded. Felix’s vision went completely white for a second before blurring completely, the screams that Changbin and Seungmin let out becoming white noise in his head as every sound turned to static, followed by a high-pitched ringing that buzzed shrilly through his ears. 

Yuta’s launch into the room was followed by Taeyong, the man’s striking red hair zooming through the doorway and clashing with Changbin, a feral growl tearing rapidly after him. 

He tried to grab Changbin’s shoulders, attempting to throw him to the floor with a devastating crash. But Changbin screamed and yelled and cursed, clawing at the man and kicking out with his legs, spitting and slapping, the two figures moulding into one as Yuta went straight for Seungmin. 

Felix didn’t even think about it as his hand whipped out and grabbed Seungmin’s bicep, yanking the two of them back as Yuta lunged. Seungmin screamed at the sudden movement and Yuta’s lips opened brutally with an angry yell, Felix feeling the noises bashing against his brain as he struggled to pull in air, skin burning with the need for survival.

It was only a small advantage, Felix and Seungmin being a pair whilst Yuta was alone, but it proved to be enough. Yuta seemed to struggle for a second over who he should pounce at next and Seungmin literally seized the moment in his fist when he reached out to grab one of the bottles next to his head and propelled it Yuta’s way, his arm jolting with the move and forming a majestic arch as he tried not to think about how wrong it felt to be trying to harm another human.

The glass soared through the air like a bomb and Yuta only just ducked in time, the rim of the bottle whistling over the top of his head and brushing against his scalp before it hit the nearby wall, shattering into a million pieces that rained down majestically close to Taeyong, the sudden avalanche of glass being enough of a distraction for Changbin to wrench himself away. 

He tore towards the open door to the barroom, Felix and Seungmin mere inches behind him as they ran, minds buzzing and bodies shaking, feet pulling them to escape. 

Changbin and Seungmin shot towards the stacked tables and chairs, hands firmly clasped between each other, Changbin throwing himself on the ground somewhere in the middle of the stack, yanking Seungmin down after him and cradling him close. The pair remained cuddled on the floor together, faces pressed into each other’s skin and hands leaving bruising grips on the other, breaths fastening together as one.

Unfortunately, Felix had picked a different route.

He headed straight for the bar, placing both his palms on it before using all the adrenalin inside of him to throw himself over, landing on the floor on the other side with a whimper and a pant, clutching his chest as his heart continued to beat against his ribs. 

The world was still spinning around him and the high-pitching ringing was still writhing in his ears, but it was nothing compared to the slow, steady footsteps that entered the room, stopping for a second in the doorway before the two murderers carried on, steps eerily in-sync.

Every footstep was like a bomb going off in Felix’s mind, exploding through his brain with terror as he pictured the black boots walking their way slowly across the floor, getting closer and closer and closer. 

Felix tried to quieten his breathing, tried to slap a hand over his mouth to muffle the sounds of his sobs, tried not to shake so hard against the wall of glasses behind him. But it was all too much, all too much as one of the sets of footsteps got progressively louder, Felix squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to process that one of them was coming.

One of them was coming.

One of the murderers was headed his way.

He curled further into himself behind the bar, whimpering into his hand and bowing his head as a single tear slithered its way down his cheek, Felix flinching with every footstep that got nearer and nearer and nearer.

One step. Another tear.

Two steps. Two more flinches.

Three steps. One last wheezing breath.

It only took four steps before Felix cried out at the sound of someone slapping their hands on the bar just as he had done, propelling themselves over gracefully and landing smack in front of Felix, the sight of the two dark boots hitting the floor in front of him being enough to send Felix into a panic.

Taeyong landed directly in front of him, eyes sharpening to needles as Felix processed the sight of a serial killer snarling down at him, the entire world fading away around a sadistic face with a sinister smile. 

Felix didn’t know if he was breathing or not.

All Felix knew, was that he had to survive.

So, when Taeyong reached down a piercing claw to grab him, Felix kicked out with all his might, hitting Taeyong in the ankle before frantically rolling away, ignoring Taeyong’s grunt of pain as he lunged for the hatch he could use to get out from behind the bar. 

A horrifying feeling of electricity jolted through his heart as he swerved to duck under the exit, whimpering at the sound of boots shuffling behind him, desperately praying that the kick had been enough to keep Taeyong down for longer than a few seconds. 

Unfortunately, it had only made Taeyong angrier.

The entire room went red as an animalistic growl tore through the air, followed by a glass that Taeyong snatched off the shelf and shot Felix’s way, slender fingers causing the glass to twist unnervingly as it flew. 

Felix turned to the right just in time to catch it directly to the face, colourless shards being stained a brutal red as Felix crumpled. Pain sizzled all down his right cheek, hot stabbing erupting in his skin as he hit the floor, letting out a choked scream as the broken glass sank its fangs into Felix’s neck, blood dripping down his veins. 

There was barely any time to process the agony before Felix felt a hand squeezing his bicep and yanking him up, a jolt of icy fear freezing inside him as he was brought face-to-face with Taeyong, eye-to-eye with the man who would happily kill him. 

Taeyong’s face was a thing of nightmares. Every cell, every bone, every feature was chiselled to perfection, sculpted by a god of beauty, sharp cheekbones and flawless skin and curved lips all coming together to form a mask of absolute exquisiteness. But there was a hidden undertone to it all, hidden snakes writhing darkly under Taeyong’s skin, hidden evil dancing dangerously in his eyes. Every part of Taeyong’s face screamed nothing but cold, hard killer and Felix knew he’d be having nightmares about it for weeks to come.

Felix was almost so distracted by Taeyong’s face that he didn’t see Changbin sneaking up behind them, holding up a bottle to smash Taeyong over the head with, face set with a kind of determination that Felix had never seen on Changbin before. 

It was hard, but Felix tried not to react, tried not to give away that Taeyong was about to be knocked out, tried not to get his hopes up that maybe this serial killer was finally going to let go of him.

But there must have been something in the way Felix’s eye’s flickered, something in the way his arm twitched, something in the way his breath faltered, because Taeyong was swinging around a second later.

It all happened in a second. Felix was dropped in the floor and thrown away as Taeyong whipped up a fast hand to catch the bottle soaring for his head, the glass hitting against his hand and halting in its descent with a deadly smack. Changbin’s eyes widened, panic invading his face for a second as Taeyong smirked, snatching the bottle and slamming to the ground, both Felix and Changbin wincing at the smash. 

But Taeyong wasn’t done, wasn’t satisfied only with smashing a bottle. Changbin tried to take a faulty step back, tried to splutter out words, but Taeyong was tearing forward and grabbing his hair, strands twisting between his fingertips before he was turning and smacking Changbin’s head against the bar one, two, three times. 

“NO!” the scream came from Seungmin, drowning out the sickening cracks ringing out with every hit. Seungmin was weeping and thrashing from where Yuta had manhandled him to the middle of the room, both their eyes set on the way Taeyong was holding Changbin’s unmoving body against the bar, blood beginning to stain the counter from the gaping wound in Changbin’s head, “No! Let go of him!

Felix wanted to throw up, could feel the acid burning along his throat, but he couldn’t even move enough to expel it. His eyes were glued to the blood slowly dripping down the bar and onto the spot next to him on the floor, Changbin’s entire body limp like a ragdoll, Seungmin’s devastated cries drowning the air in the room. 

And Taeyong… Taeyong looked proud.

Seungmin was sobbing and Felix was frozen and bloody and Changbin was unconscious, a bloody waterfall dripping disgustingly down next to him, and Taeyong looked like he was in heaven. Surrounded by blood, surrounded by pain, surrounded by fear, and ready to laugh like a maniac. 

It was horrifying.

Felix barely registered it as he was screamed at to move, barely registered it as he was screamed at to move to the middle of the room to be with Seungmin, barely registered it as he was screamed at right in the face by Taeyong who was still clinging to Changbin’s hair with one hand, blood spilling down his wrist.

Felix couldn’t take his eyes off the sight, couldn’t look away from the injury in his friend’s head, couldn’t bring himself to move even a finger. But then he heard Seungmin’s cry of pain, Seungmin’s yell of fear as Yuta whipped out a blade to press into his neck, dangerously close to taking the boy’s life. And suddenly Felix was scrambling to the middle of the room, legs shaking underneath him as he ran to do as he was told, not wanting someone else to get hurt. 

He hit his knees in front of Seungmin with a thump, meeting his friend’s eyes and gasping at the terror swirling within them, Seungmin desperately twisting and twitching to try and reach for his unconscious boyfriend who Taeyong was dragging over. 

Changbin’s body made a sliding sound against the floor and Seungmin cried harder, incoherently begging and pleading and struggling against the knife pressed against him, Felix’s heart searing with ice when he realised there was nothing he could do, nothing he could do to bring his friend comfort when all he was feeling was pain. 

Pain.

The same feeling Felix could feel rooted in his very soul.

The same feeling that seared between his shoulder-blades when Taeyong dropped Changbin’s body and kicked Felix to the floor, knee landing on Felix’s back to hold him in place, all the breath leaving his body in a vicious rush. 

“No! Don’t hurt him too!” Seungmin was screaming, clawing at the arm at his throat, face barely recognisable through his tears, “Please don’t hurt him!”

“S-Seungmin… it’s-it’s okay,” Felix tried to rasp out, the glass in his skin writhing as his face twisted enough for him to speak, “Seungmin… it’s okay.”

Seungmin looked like he wanted to believe the words, wanted to believe them so bad, but then another knife came down, this one landing against the back of Felix’s neck, and Felix realised he had spoken too soon. 

He felt the chill of the blade as it sent an icy shiver all the way down his spine, he felt the lightning striking his heart as the terror squirmed inside of him, he felt the entire room shift when a group of familiar figures crashed into the doorway of the bar and Felix realised he had spoken far, far too soon. 

Because it wasn’t going to be okay. Because his friends were here at the horrible scene. Because he and his friends were alone with a pair of serial killers.

. . .

“Want to have some fun?”

Jisung didn’t know what it felt like to have your veins freeze over, but he imagined it felt very similar to what he was experiencing in that very moment. 

Staring into that room… seeing Seungmin on his knees, Felix on his stomach and Changbin unconscious… it had Jisung’s body tingling with ice.

Not a single one of them had moved. Woojin was still staring terrified into the room, his chest heaving with breaths so heavy Jisung was surprised he was still standing. 

The others were all gathered behind him, limbs shaking and skin sickly white, their ears filling with the noises of Felix’s sniffles and Seungmin’s sobs, Jeongin somehow flinching with every devastated noise that left one of the boy’s mouths. 

Jisung hung back, unable to bring himself to join the crowd in the doorway. The fear was an ever-present itch on his skin, knotting painfully against him as he shuffled back slightly, his heart stuttering and cluttering in his chest, ribs wriggling and writhing as his entire body threatened to drop. 

The other boys were somehow handling it, somehow able to stay on their feet, but Jisung felt on the brink of collapse. The sight of his friends in danger, the sight of the knives pressed against them, the sight of the blood and the murderers and the smashed glass, it was enough to bring Jisung to his knees, his legs shaking so hard they were practically vibrating.

He really did drop when Yuta’s voice thundered through the room a second later, ringing so loud and so lethal that they all flinched as one. 

“Well, don’t just stand there!” Yuta roared, arm tightening around Seungmin’s neck in a way that somehow managed to cut off the air for all of them, “Get in here now! Get in here or one of your little friends here pays the price.”

At the words, Taeyong dug his knee further into Felix’s back and Felix whimpered, the high-pitched cry sounding so pathetic, so vulnerable from the boy who usually spoke with such a low voice.

It was enough to spur the others into action. Woojin took a visibly-deep breath, his shaking hand sliding from the doorway to drop down to tangle his fingers with Hyunjin’s, the two sharing an unsteady look before they took a step together into the room, holding hands all the way to the murderers that beckoned them over.

Chan and Minho were next, they turned to look at one another, both somehow able to look reassuring as they locked eyes for a fateful second, making a silent promise to always protect one another, to always defend one another, to always love one another. 

One last second passed between them before Chan turned and looped a steady arm over Jeongin’s shoulders, making a protective display in front of the evil men snarling at them.

The trio walked as one into the room, going to kneel next to where Woojin and Hyunjin were, Seungmin and Felix watching them with petrified eyes. 

Jisung knew he should follow them, knew he should do as he was told, knew his friends’ safety was reliant on his actions, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. He was paralysed, completely frozen, body completely rigid with fear that strangled his every cell and suffocated his every nerve, keeping him firmly in place as every other instinct in him screamed that he had to go into the room, that he had to be with the people who meant most to him in the world. They might die without him.

But instead, Jisung felt shame flush all through him as he suddenly found he was dragging himself backwards. His hand was refusing to listen to his brain, his legs completely ignoring his mind as he pulled himself back towards the staircase, pulled himself away from the scene he was supposed to be walking straight towards.

He hit the staircase with a small thud, guilt igniting within him when the sound was drowned out by another cry from Seungmin, followed by several begs from the other boys, Jisung hating himself at the idea that their pain might be his fault. 

But it was then that Taeyong’s voice filtered into the storage room, and Jisung almost recoiled with realisation.

“The gang’s all here, eh? Let’s all play a game together.”

Taeyong’s tone was laced with glee, dripping with venom so poisonous it filled the entire room. But Jisung wasn’t focused on that, he was focused on the exact words Tayeong had said.

The gang’s ALL here?

It was then that Jisung realised that from his spot huddled next to the staircase, he wasn’t visible. The open door showcased a lot of the storage room, but not all of it, and so the place Jisung had somehow dragged himself into was not at all noticeable for the two men trying to corner as many people as they could. 

Jisung couldn’t be seen.

They didn’t know Jisung was there.

Jisung almost gasped at the revelation, feeling something akin to relief flowing through him as he realised he was safe… he was safe and he could probably find a way to make sure everyone else was safe too. 

If he managed to make it back upstairs without being noticed and find a phone, then he could call the police. He could call the police and they’d be rescued and Changbin would get the help he needed and everyone would be okay. 

At least Jisung hoped.

All he had to do was be quiet enough for no one to notice him as he made his way back upstairs.

Unfortunately, the task was more difficult than it seemed as Jisung was a lot clumsier than the average person, especially when he was so shaky, and the staircase was old enough to rattle every time someone moved on it.

But Jisung wouldn’t, couldn’t, let it phase him. His friends were in danger and, he may have been completely and utterly scared out of his mind, but he had to save them. He had already let them down once by not going into the room. That curse may have turned out to be a blessing, but it didn’t give him an excuse to mess up again. 

So, with his heart clogging up his throat, Jisung carefully reached up a shaking hand and placed it gingerly on the first step, preparing to pull himself up.

He didn’t want to rush in fear of someone hearing him, but he also knew that the longer he took, the longer his friends were at the hands of Taeyong and Yuta, so he knew he had to at least somewhat hurry. 

Turns out the loudest noise that was made when Jisung pulled himself onto the first step was his heartbeat. He was so scared, so goddamn scared, and his heart was slamming against his ribs, so loud Jisung was surprised it hadn’t given him away yet. 

But it turns out he was successful as he pulled himself onto the second step, so Jisung tried not to let it get to him as the sweat began to drip on his forehead, terror still clinging tight to his every vein as he carefully shuffled onto the third step.

Okay… so far, so good.

Jisung allowed himself to catch his breath before he carried on, squeezing the banister so hard his knuckles went white as he tried to pull in oxygen through a clogged-up throat, trying to talk himself into standing up, standing up so he could walk up the stairs instead of doing this weird-shuffle-thing that was bound to start making noise soon.

But it was difficult, difficult because Jisung’s legs were still shaking so hard he doubted he could use them, still shaking so hard he’d probably only collapse again.

His whole body flinched as the sound of a slap echoed from the barroom, followed by a devastating whimper that Jisung felt from the bottom of his very soul. And it was then that he decided he really, really needed to get a move on. 

This wasn’t about him… this was about his friends, and he was letting them down. 

That was what Jisung told himself as he carefully manoeuvred his feet underneath him, breaths getting faster and faster and faster as he pulled himself to his feet, squeezing his eyes shut and almost crying in relief when he was able to stand steadily for longer than two seconds, the oxygen whistling in and out of him.

Progress.

The next step was quite literally getting onto the next step. So, Jisung tugged his shaking foot off the ground and pushed it upwards, white-knuckling the barrier as he ascended the staircase, wheezing and biting his lip to hold in his whimpers. 

It was a slow process, but Jisung was somehow able to drag himself up to the top of the staircase without dying. He had flinched with every step and he was pretty sure his lungs were about to explode with all the unnecessary breaths he’d taken, but he was now completely out of sight of the storage room with the possibility of finding a phone now significantly higher than it had been a few minutes prior.

But he was not completely out of danger yet.

Jisung was all too aware of how the floor he’d be walking across was the floor directly over the top of the barroom and that any heavy steps would instantly alert the murderers downstairs that they hadn’t quite caught everyone in the building yet. Which meant that Jisung’s sneaking around and light treading wasn’t quite over. 

His heartbeat echoed throughout the entire hallway as Jisung carefully slinked his way down, keeping one hand tracing over the wall to the right of him whilst fumbling ahead with his left hand, not wanting to walk into something that would create a crash and give him away. 

He tried to keep his eyes off the shadows and the windows around him, not wanting to have his imagination playing tricks on him when there were already enough real-life monsters around to have his terror boiling. But that didn’t mean he could deny how utterly petrified he was, how he wanted nothing more than to scream and cry and fall into utter hysterics even though he was only a footstep’s noise away from being killed, a footstep’s noise away from having all the people he loved killed.

So, Jisung continued to walk heel-toe down the hallway, using all his years of dance training and prancing around stages to keep his steps light as he took shallow, wheezing breaths to hopefully stop himself from screaming. 

He reached the living room with an internal cheer of happiness, spotting his phone and Chan and Minho’s phones all lying on the sofa, practically begging to be used to call the police. Jisung wanted to sprint to them, wanted to grab them and hug them and hold them to his ears, but he kept himself calm as he carefully ambled over, fingertips extended towards what could only be his saviour. 

Jisung was so distracted by this, however, that he didn’t see the large piles of blankets lying discarded on the floor.

The large pile of blankets that shifted underneath his toes the moment he stepped on them and had him crashing to the floor. 

He hit the ground with an explosive BANG! The floorboards screamed under his weight as the entire world went out from under him, his mind descending to nothing but pure, unfiltered panic as a yell rang out from downstairs. 

No, no, no, no, no…

Jisung couldn’t help but scream as he realised what he had just done, as he realised their last hope of saviour had just shattered to pieces, as he realised there was a series of footsteps crashing their way upstairs.

The sounds stormed through Jisung’s brain and he screamed again, whipping his head up and staring at the phone, deciding it was a risk he had absolutely no choice but to take.

The blankets flew back behind him as Jisung scrambled upwards and lunged towards the phone, landing sprawled on his stomach over the edge of the sofa as he clasped his fingers around it, not having a single second to process the familiar feeling of the metal under his skin. 

His hands were shaking so badly and his eyes were so blurred with tears he almost couldn’t press emergency dial, but something in Jisung must have known he needed to get it right because he hit the button first time, the sound of the dialling somehow able to drown out the sounds of heavy boots tearing towards him. 

The operator picked up at exactly the same time as Jisung heard a figure thunder into the living room from behind him. His entire body flinched at the feeling of eyes drilling into his back, angry and feral breathing filling up the room as Jisung felt his entire being shift from humanity into nothing but flesh made of terror. 

A voice shouted urgently at Jisung from the phone, another more murderous one screaming at him from behind, but Jisung could barely notice it as he began to shut down, his mind unable to handle the pure amount of fear flooding him in that moment. His lungs were closing and his heart was racing and his body was shaking and his hands were sweating and he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t breathe…

But then another crash echoed harshly through the room, this one was accompanied by a whole array of pained grunts, and it snapped Jisung out of his panic momentarily enough for him to whip round, turning to face the sight of Minho who was unsteadily on top of Yuta and trying to pin him down, having tackled him to the ground mere seconds before. 

Chan darted in from behind them, trying to help Minho in wrestling Yuta into a position where he could be restrained. But Yuta was cruel and unyielding and he struggled and wriggled and cursed, growling and snarling at the limbs trying to hold him. 

Jisung felt his heart drop as Yuta managed to wrench an arm free and the murderer didn’t even think about it as he drew it back to smash an unforgiving fist directly into Minho’s face.

Minho’s neck snapped all the way back, a strangled cry leaving his lips as he hit the ground, blood exploding all down his face. Chan screamed and cried at the sight of his boyfriend being punched, Yuta letting out a dizzying cry of victory that was cut off abruptly by Chan leaping directly onto him and yelling horrifyingly in his face. 

A gag ripped directly from Jisung’s throat as he recoiled, unable to take his eyes off the blood forming a puddle on the carpet, Minho lying in the middle of it writhing and twitching as he clutched his face, nose gushing so hard that Jisung was surprised he was still conscious. 

Maybe it was the sight of his friend’s agony, maybe it was the sound of Chan’s harrowing yells, maybe it was something else entirely, but Jisung was so incredibly grateful for whatever it was in that moment that made him realise he was supposed to be saving everyone, he had found a way of saving everyone.

So, it was with a shaking hand that Jisung brought the phone up to his ear, ignoring the person already shouting at the other end as he spoke, his voice steady enough not to be overshadowed by the noises of chaos around him.

“Hello?! We need help!”

. . .

“Get in here now! Get in here or one of your little friends here pays the price.”

Leaving the storage room and entering the barroom to walk towards Taeyong and Yuta was an experience Chan would never be able to properly describe.

He had Minho holding his hand on one side and Jeongin tucked under his arm on the other, all three of them shaking as they forced themselves to walk towards the monsters who had pinned Seungmin and Felix, the monsters who had knocked out Changbin, the monsters who had seen them in the doorway and called them over. 

It felt like an out-of-body experience, like every step was taking Chan further and further under water. He could feel the water clogging up his lungs and the world fading away around him and, by the time the three of them had kneeled next to Hyunjin and Woojin, Chan felt like he had really drowned. 

Taeyong was the first to speak up, dark eyes leering at them from where he was oh-so-deliciously teasing the knife against Felix’s neck, a silent promise to unleash a tidal wave of red from the boy should any of them try anything. 

“The gang’s all here, eh?” Taeyong’s voice was lilted with candy as he spoke, like he was a sweet-shop owner trying to tempt children to buy the tastiest snack just to watch them choke, “Let’s all play a game together.”

His lips carefully formed the words, his face making sure to tease and tickle at the appropriate moments, using the word ‘game’ to throw a deadly wink that had Chan’s blood running cold.

But ‘game’ wasn’t the worst thing Chan had taken from the sentence, it was the word ‘together’. 

It was hard coming to terms with the fact that you might just be about to die, but it was damn-near impossible to accept it for your friends. It was with a sharp, horrified breath that Chan realised all nine of them were in danger, all nine of them were under threat and there was nothing he could do about it.

He cast a quick glance around at everyone, trying to commit all their perfect faces to memory should the unthinkable happen and one of them ended up gone. 

Changbin was still unconscious, face bloody but somehow peaceful in the chaos around him.

Seungmin was petrified, staring at Changbin with such an intense look of love Chan would never forget it. 

Felix was more concerned about everyone else than he was about himself, despite being the only one with glass in his face and a murderer literally on his back.

Woojin and Hyunjin were holding hands, determined to stay together until the end.

Jeongin… Jeongin was trying so hard to be strong, trying so hard to keep it together for his friends. 

Minho was next to Chan, Minho would always be next to Chan, and Minho would always be the one Chan loved the most.

And Jisung… Jisung was… Jisung?

Chan’s head whipped back and forth, questions exploding within him and terror forming a cold stone in his gut, his eyes unable to find his final friend.

Where was Jisung?

Chan knew he couldn’t voice the question out loud, couldn’t give away that one of them was missing, but he also couldn’t stop the fear showing on his face. Was Jisung missing because he was hurt? Or was Jisung missing because he was trying to help them?

The thoughts suffocated Chan’s mind, filling it to the brim with thousands of emotions he couldn’t even begin to identify. It was one thing being in a group of friends surrounded by murderers, but it was another thing to have a friend go missing from a group surrounded by murderers. 

Was this going to end in their rescue? Or in their doom?

Was Jisung going to help them? Or get them killed? Or get himself killed?

There was no way to tell, not until the situation played out in front of them, but Chan didn’t know if he had the patience or the mental capacity to wait for that to happen. 

He must have been too far in his own head, because the next thing Chan knew his face was exploding with pain and his head was snapping round as a palm met his cheek, Yuta standing over him with his arm raised.

“I expect you to listen to me!” Yuta roared, Minho snarling back and Jeongin whimpering as Chan dragged in a pained breath, his shoulders lurching before he forced his head back up, ignoring the brutal sting on the side of his face.

His eyes landed on Seungmin who had been thrown to the side and had managed to crawl his way over to Changbin, cradling his boyfriend in his arms, carefully stroking his fingers over the wound in his head. Felix was still pinned under Taeyong but looking at Chan with scared eyes, concerned Yuta would do more to hurt him. 

Woojin, Minho, Hyunjin and Jeongin were all watching from the sides of him, Minho reaching behind Chan’s back to grab his hand and squeeze it, half to comfort Chan and take his pain and the other half to calm his own anger, not wanting to annoy the men who could do some real damage to his friends.

“Trust me, it’ll be a lot easier for you if you do as I say,” Yuta continued, voice twisted with poison that bored directly into Chan’s face, “We don’t want anyone else to get hurt, do we?”

It was clear through Yuta’s face that he did actually want nothing more than for someone to get hurt, but Chan refrained from saying that out loud, body already unwillingly cowering under the threat lying over his head. So, Chan resigned himself to staying quiet and hoping things remained as calm as they could, still internally praying that Jisung was okay.

His prayers remained unfulfilled, however, when a large BANG! crashed through the ceiling from above, the sound of a body smacking the floor reverberating throughout the entire room.

Chan didn’t know what dropped more, his heart or Jisung’s fall, when Jisung let out a terrified scream sending a heart attack bouncing off the walls for them all to catch, Jisung clearly aware of the mistake he had just made when Yuta’s head flew up to stare at the ceiling, a yell of surprise and recognition leaving his lips. 

The same sound left Taeyong’s mouth a millisecond later, the two killers locking eyes in a method of silent communication and cold calculation, lightning spikes of confusion and shock igniting between them.

Chan could only imagine the horrifying thoughts running through their heads, the evil plans they could scheme, and he felt his blood explode into boiling point when Taeyong lowered his head in one firm nod before Yuta took off, screaming that he would find whoever it was upstairs, screaming that he would rip them to shreds. 

Images of Jisung under attack entered Chan’s mind, images of Jisung’s blood staining the floor, images of Yuta launching a knife at Jisung’s chest, and it was all Chan could do to not throw up on the sport. He almost did when Minho suddenly disappeared from next to him, shooting after Yuta and drawing a growl from Taeyong that Chan barely registered as he volleyed after Minho.

They gashed up the staircase, feet hulking into the floor and arms heaving them up as they followed Yuta’s silhouette to the living room, Minho wasting no time in pouncing on him.

Chan was only a second behind, briefly registering a deathly pale Jisung crouched by the sofa before he launched himself into the fray, thumping against the floor in time to see Yuta throwing an iron fist directly onto Minho’s nose.

There were no words to what Chan was feeling that moment other than cold, hard fury.

Sure, Chan had seen plenty of people try to hurt Minho, he was a bouncer after all. But none had succeeded like Yuta had, none had so intentionally thrown such force Minho’s way, none had broken his nose with a single snap.

Chan’s blood crackled inside of him, smoke sizzling off his skin as his entire body roared with adrenalin, bones grinding together as he snarled so loud he almost dislocated his jaw, yelling and screaming and spitting as he ambushed Yuta.

He didn’t know how did it, how he was able to keep Yuta down even through Minho’s whimpers and Jisung’s cries and various screams from downstairs, but Chan somehow managed it. He pinned and pushed and growled, yelling in Yuta’s face until suddenly the screams got closer, until suddenly Minho was by his side, until suddenly Jisung was rushing towards them.

Until suddenly, Chan’s world was drowned out by sirens.

. . .

Hearing Jisung’s scream was one thing, but seeing Chan and Minho throw themselves after a serial killer was on a whole other level.

Woojin looked ready to sprint after them, turning and landing a kiss smack on Hyunjin’s lips before shooting upwards, legs carrying him across the room at a speed he never thought he’d be able to achieve, but he’d only made it a few steps before Taeyong’s roar halted him in his steps. 

“Do not move!” Taeyong’s voice was shaking with anger and laced with what could only be described as a small degree of panic. He seemed to have realised that he was now only one person against six and that he had already lost control of several of them. Chan and Minho had disappeared, Woojin had tried to do the same, Seungmin had thrown Changbin behind his back and Felix was trying twist his way out of Taeyong’s grip, all of which was definitely not a part of Taeyong’s plan. 

That wasn’t even mentioning the thump that had come from upstairs, the thump that indicated that someone else was around, someone who could call the police and put an end to the actions of Taeyong and Yuta. 

Definitely not apart of the plan. 

They could all practically see the gears turning in Taeyong’s head, the way his brain was working on coming up with a plan to get them all back in his control. It was an unsettling sight, one that they knew could bring them a lot of pain, but Felix ignored it as Taeyong’s knee loosened ever so slightly against his back and he used the moment to suddenly flip himself over and try and twist away.

But he’d only managed to roll himself onto his back when Taeyong realised what he was doing and his mouth opened in an animalistic growl that had every inch of Felix’s skin crawling with terror, anger pouring all over him from the man who was raising a knife above his head.

Felix had less than a second’s warning before the very same knife was swinging down and heading straight for him, Taeyong’s sadistic face something that would be burned in Felix’s memory forever, the one last thing he saw before he had been certain he was going to die. 

But then Hyunjin’s yell bounced off the walls and smacked Felix straight in the face as Hyunjin used his long legs and agile arms to spring himself up, flying towards Taeyong with every possible spark of adrenalin burning inside of him as he focused on nothing but getting the knife away from his friend.

The knife was literally only an inch from Felix’s chest when Hyunjin barrelled into the side of Taeyong and knocked his arm, the knife instead burying itself instead into Felix’s shoulder and drawing a choked, agonised scream from the boy, blood immediately beginning to stain his shirt.

But neither Tayeong nor Hyunjin thought about that as Taeyong was wiped out and landed in a sprawl next to Felix, Hyunjin landing on top of him, screaming his head off and trying to claw at his face, incoherent words and phrases tumbling from his lips at increasing volumes as Taeyong tried to fight back.

Woojin bolted towards them, throwing himself onto his knees and grabbing both Taeyong’s arms as Hyunjin sat on his legs, both of them trying to stare at each other and check that the other was okay whilst they were literally on top of a serial killer. 

But nothing distracted them more than Felix’s cries.

Felix was still lying on his back, knife in his shoulder and icy pain spreading throughout his whole body as he writhed on the floor, Jeongin and Seungmin holding a shirt to his wound and desperately trying to calm him down as he cried and begged. Both their hands were stained with red, Jeongin desperately wishing he could stroke Felix’s hair to try and calm him down but not wanting blood to get into more places it shouldn’t be, not wanting the thick red to become more of a disease than it already had. 

The colour started draining from Felix’s face, blood-loss and panic and pain beginning to shut him down as Seungmin begged him to stay awake, begged him to be okay, begged him to not end up like Changbin, unconscious and bloody on the floor.

Seungmin didn’t even know if Changbin was okay, if the head injury was something his boyfriend was going to be able to recover from, but he did know that he had to have hope. So, he kept one hand against Felix’s shoulder, attempting to stop the blood oozing out around the knife, and the other hand tangled in Changbin’s hair, wanting his boyfriend to know that he was there, even if he didn’t realise it. 

“It’s going to be okay, hyung,” Jeongin sounded like he was begging as he stared down at Felix, like he was actually asking for it to be okay rather than stating it was, “Please be okay, hyung, you’re going to be okay.”

Felix could only stare up at him, wincing and crying with the pain, blood coating his entire arm as the red gushed out of him, drawing whimpers and winded screams from his chapped lips. Jeongin continued to talk to him, crying with everything he said about Felix needing to stay awake, everything he said about Felix needing to answer him, everything he said about Felix needing to stay with him so they couldn’t lose him.

It was hard, but Felix seemed to listen as best as he could, fighting exhaustedly against the force trying to pull down his eyelids. Jeongin seemed to notice and switched his begging to praise, telling Felix he was doing so well, promising desperately that it would all get better soon. Felix could only hope that Jeongin was right, terrified of the darkness beginning to swarm of his vision, of the unconsciousness trying to pull him away. 

There were tears on all their faces, tremors in all their hearts, fear in all their veins, and yet they all pushed on. Hyunjin and Woojin continued to hold Taeyong, Seungmin and Jeongin continued to frantically tend to Felix and Felix continued to try and stay awake. All of them fighting, all of them surviving.

All of them holding on until the lights from the police cars shone blindingly through the windows and they all allowed themselves to be rescued as the door was kicked in.

. . .

It was a whole two weeks later, and the entire city was getting ready for the grand re-opening of Miroh. 

There was not a single city-resident who hadn’t heard the story of the nine boys, who hadn’t been shaken and shocked by the news of what happened to them. Miroh was a respected business and the boys who worked there were well-known for their dedication, kindness and hard work, and so the whole city had grieved when Taeyong and Yuta were arrested again, leaving behind a smashed-up bar and a traumatised group of friends. 

Countless bouquets and gifts had been sent to the hospital, filling up the rooms of Felix, Changbin and Minho who had all required a lot of medical attention to help them recover.

Minho had been released first, walking out hand-in-hand with Chan and a broken nose. It had looked a little swollen and crooked on his face first, but it was healing nicely and he and Chan headed straight to Miroh upon his hospital release, determined to aid in the clean-up of the place. 

Woojin had already managed to fix the window Taeyong and Yuta had broken to get in, and Jeongin and Jisung had worked together to clear up all the broken class littering the place, but they all had to take turns trying to clean away all the blood. 

By the time they had gotten round to it, the blood had crusted over and dried, leaving a brutal reminder of all the pain that had been felt that night. There was a large spot of red on the edge of the bar where Changbin’s head had been smashed, and even more droplets on the floor where Felix had taken a glass to the face, and a huge stain on the carpet upstairs where Minho’s nose had been broken, and of course a giant puddle in the middle of the barroom where Felix had been stabbed. 

Hyunjin had almost thrown up cleaning up some of it, and Woojin had gone to help him whilst Chan and Minho took over, both Jeongin and Jisung having left to take their turns visiting Changbin and Felix in the hospital.

Naturally, Seungmin had never left Changbin’s side, listening to the explanation of his boyfriend’s severe concussion with a heavy heart and a promise to take care of him once he woke up.

Which is why, when Changbin was finally released a couple of days later, Seungmin hadn’t left him alone, making him go to bed and bringing him water and stroking his hair and fluttering after him in a way that was so organised and so adorable and so Seungmin that Changbin hadn’t been able to help but enjoy every second of it. 

Felix’s release had followed a few days after that, his arm in a sling and face covered in stitches, but a smile still stretching wide on his cheeks when Chan had picked him up and taken him back to his house where the seven other boys were waiting for a sleepover. 

It had been a good night, one of the first night since the break-in that not a single one of them had a nightmare, taking the comfort and strength from one another to re-learn what it was like to be safe and okay.

It was the very next morning that they had discussed re-opening the bar. Naturally, there had been some fear and apprehension, some of them having not stepped into Miroh since the night it had all happened. They’d been losing business the whole time it had been closed, but Woojin and Seungmin had been reassuring everyone that they could keep it closed for a bit longer if needed.

However, there was no way for them to deny that they missed their work, their fun nights, their interaction with the townspeople. So, it was only a matter of days before they were polishing everything, re-stocking what they needed and announcing a special re-opening night with new drinks, new music and new smiles from the boys.

The city had responded with nothing but love, crowds gathering outside the bar an hour before the opening was scheduled and wishing them all luck.

So, that was where they all were, waiting inside to welcome the people who not only admired them for their work, but also for their strength.

Changbin was positioned on stage, wearing a white bucket hat with a neon-orange t-shirt, black cargo pants and thick boots, ear-plugs in his pocket in case the music got too loud and his head started to hurt again. 

Chan and Jisung were either side of him, reassuring him that they were there if his injury got too much and they’d catch him if he fell. Chan was wearing a dark-green button-up with sophisticated ripped black jeans and chains hanging from his belt, hair messy and un-styled. Jisung had on a white and black sleeveless checked hoodie with ripped black tracksuit trousers and unmatching converse, blue bangs styled over his eyes and hoop earrings dangling from his ears.

Minho was just positioning himself outside, looking all kinds of vampire with his leather jacket, leather trousers and high-heeled leather boots, platinum blond hair blowing in the wind and striking red lipstick standing out against the bruising still on his face. He looked more intimidating than he ever had before, like he could punch you easily in the face but also systematically slit your throat and get away with it because he was just that hot. 

It was a good job Chan wasn’t looking at him, because he never would have been able to look away.

The thought made Woojin smirk to himself as he crossed the bar floor, wearing a silk white blouse with the top few buttons undone and sleek black trousers, pointy black shoes clicking against the floor as he walked, new silver earrings sparkling gorgeously in his ears. Hyunjin wasn’t even trying to hide the way he was staring, glittery eyes shining as he stared dreamily from where he was behind the bar, dressed similarly in an expensive dark pink turtleneck that exposed his stomach and arms and tight black leather trousers, feet adorned by shiny silver heels. His hair was even longer than it was before, tumbling over his shoulders in luscious dark waves. 

Jeongin was next to him, wearing a button-up denim blouse and a red tartan skirt, fishnets leading down to dainty black ankle boots. His hair was freshly-dyed a bright blonde that shone gold under the bar-light, further highlighting his large eyes and bright smile.

He waved at Felix who was stood at the cocktail bar, wearing an oversized lilac sweater that matched his hair and bright blue jeans, white converse on his feet. His head held adorable back cat ears that Seungmin had stuck over his hair as a joke, not expecting Felix to actually refuse to take them off.

Which meant that, in turn, the joke had backfired on Seungmin because Seungmin had to work with Felix all night. Felix only had use of one arm and, as excited as he was to try and make cocktails one-handed all night, he knew he’d be a lot slower and messier than normal so Woojin had asked Seungmin to help. Seungmin had of course agreed, wearing a beret with a black button-up shirt decorated with bright red roses, falling over white jeans and black dress shoes. 

He and Felix worked efficiently together, Seungmin consistently checking Felix wasn’t in too much pain or in need of a break, Felix promising that he was doing fine as he giggled trying to pour ice one-handed into a tall, thin glass filled with bright red liquid that looked like it was about to spill over at any second. 

In the end, Felix added way too much ice but the customer had been more entertained than anything else and had given Felix an extra tip for his effort, complimenting him on his braveness and his dedication to his job. 

Seungmin merely smiled, casting another glance at Changbin to check his head wasn’t bothering too much only to find that Changbin was on Chan’s back, spitting into his microphone as Chan sprinted with him across the stage, Jisung on the floor with laughter at the pair’s antics. 

Hyunjin and Jeongin were also laughing from where they were watching behind the bar, not even having to look at the drinks they were pouring to get the measurements and prices right.

Woojin was decidedly ignoring them as he chatted with some of the customers, accepting all the praise and support he had received for managing to put the bar and his employees back together after all that had happened. The opening night was going off without a hitch, and the townspeople wanted him to know how grateful they were for it. 

They ended up closing an hour later than normal, none of them having the heart to put an end to such a good night. But some of them were still recovering and needed rest, so when Changbin had to go and sit down and Felix started uncomfortably rubbing his shoulder, Woojin announced it was time to for the night to end and smiled at all the customers as they started to trickle away. 

Clean-up was due to take much longer than normal, but none of them minded as they began the process, unanimously deciding to spend another night in the flat together for old time’s sake. 

The only thing that was different was that Woojin didn’t put on the radio this time, instead letting Chan plug his phone into the sound system to avoid triggering the small sparks of fear some of them still had from the announcement two weeks ago that had shaken them to their core. 

But maybe that was their biggest mistake of all, because the first time they had heard the announcement, it had at least given them time to prepare. 

Maybe if they did turn the radio on, they would have heard the second announcement that coursed through the veins of the city on another dark night.

Maybe if they did turn the radio on, they would have been aware of the two cells in the prison’s highest security that were once again empty. 

Maybe if they did turn the radio on, they would have known about the two killers that took to the streets a second time, sights set on nothing but revenge.

**Author's Note:**

> SooooooOooooOOOoooOo…. whoops?
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!!
> 
> This story was so hard!! The characters had minds of their own and it was so hard to place which character was where and what they were doing and how they felt and how that impacted the story and on and on and on. But it was soo much fun and I loved exploring this genre. 
> 
> I think I am quite happy with the finished result, but I am also quite nervous, so I would love it if you could comment your thoughts <3
> 
> Twitter: @hotelfelixxie xx
> 
> Have a magical day and remember to take care of yourself <3


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